Trolley contact-pole.



I I Patented Dec. ID, 190i. E. B.RUBE,RTSON & S. N. DOLE.

TRULLEY' CONTACT POLE.

(Application filed July 12, 1901.)

'2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

v I IN VENTORS 6775644 WITNESSES ATTOHIYEY ms co., Pno'raufua. wAwmsTou n c m. 688,486. Patented Dec. 10, IQOI.

' E. B. nusamsou & s; N. 001.5.

' TROLLEY CONTACT POLE.

(Application flled July 12, 1901.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(M Model.)

WITNESSES UNITED ST TES P TENT OFFICE.

ERNEsr B. ROBERTSON, OE PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, AND SAMUEL N. DOLE, OF CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY.

TROLLEY CONTACT-PO LE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 688,486, dated December 10, 1901.

Application filed July 12,1901. Serial No. 67,943. (Nomodeh) head trolley-wire and the electric motors car ried by a moving car. Devices for that purpose as now commonly employed consist of a hollow pole one end of which is pivotally mounted on the car-roof, springs being sup- 2o plied at or near said end tending to normally keep the free end of the pole in a verticallyinclined position, the said free end of the pole carrying and supplying by suitable means a bearing for a small wheel or disk having a con- 2 5 cave periphery,wherebycontact is maintained with the overhead electric wire. In such devices the o'bject sought in pivotally mounting the pole on the car-roof and controlling its movement by springs is to impart a resiliency to the pivotally-mount-ed pole and so maintain contact of its grooved disk with the wire that constantly-occurring changes in the an gle of inclination of the pole tending to remove the wheel from the wire will be com- 3 5 pensated for by the spring tension constantly exerted on the pole. The difiiculty with such devices, however, is that such changes in the angle of inclination of the pole are frequently brought about suddenly, due to variation in the grade of the streettrack, to varying heights of the trolley-wire from the track, and particularly is such breaking of contact occasioned by the swaying of the wire, the rocking of the car, imperfections in the roadbed or the rails, weakening of the springs at the base of thepole, and finally by curves in the track and in the line-wire. Under such conditions even the spring-controlled pivotally-mounted pole is too rigid to compensate tively to each other.

for such tendency of the wheel end of thepole to leave the wire.

In the drawings illustrating our invention, Figure 1 is an elevation of our improved device, showing also the trolley-wire and indicating the car-roof on which the pole is mounted. Fig. 2 is a like elevation of our improved device, illustrating the position of certain of its parts when in operation. Fig.

3 is a vertical section. Fig. t is an enlarged elevation of our improvement detached with the divided pole ends in dotted lines; Fig. 5,

a perspective of the two elements constituting the hinge connection with the brackets for the spring device, and Figs. 6 and 7 a section and a top view of a modificationof a part of the hinge connection to admit of using double springs.

Our invention is designed to remedy the aforesaid defect bysupply-ing resiliency at a point in the length of the pole itself, whereby the tendency of the pole-wheel to leave the trolley-wire under most if not all of the conditions stated will be fully compensated for.

To that end our invention consists, broadly, of a trolley contact-pole divided at a point for ward of its longitudinal center with a springcontrolled hinge connection between said divided ends and with positive stop devices to limit the pivotal movement of said ends rela- Stated more specific- 8o ally, it consists of a pole divided at a point forward of itslongitudinal center with ahinge connection between said divided ends, spring mechanismat or near said hinge connection tending to pivotally throw said ends normally out of alinement with each other, stop devices operating to limit the extent of said non-alimement, and other stop devices cooperating with said spring device operating to limit the pivotal movement of said ends in the opposite o direction to a degree which will effect a perfect alinemen-t thereof.

Our invention also comprises the combination therewith of the usual spring-controlled pivotal mounting commonly employed for trolley-poles when applied to the lower extremity of the longer end of our improved divided pole, also in certain novel detail features of the device and combinations thereof for operative purposes with the body of a car and an overhead trolley-wire, all as herein- .after set forth in the following description and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to said drawings, A indicates the roof of a moving car, and B the lower end of a trolleycontact-pole which is pivotally mounted thereon, the means shown for so doing being a standard I), fastened to the car-roof, the extreme end of the pole being hinged in and to said standard. The object sought is to normally maintain the pole at an incline, usually about forty-five degrees, and to do so resiliently. For both of said purposes the pivotal connection is spring-controlled by double or counteracting springs, (indicated at d d,-) these springs being so adjusted that any tendency to shift the pole from a normal degree of inclination will simultaneously create a compression of one spring and a tension of the other. The extreme free end of the pole is provided with suitable bearings for a rotating disk or wheel m, which is circumferentially grooved to provide a concave periphery which partially embraces the trolley-wire, (indicated at 0;) Underconstantly-occurring conditions, some of which have been stated above, the rigidity of the pole is such, notwithstanding the yielding effected by its basesprings d d, that the trolley-wheel will jump from the wire,a tendency which will be largely if not wholly overcome by dividing the pole forward of its longitudinal center, preferably about one-third of its whole length, and uniting said ends by a spring-controlled hinge connection governed by devices limiting the pivotal movements of the free or short end in both directions, the eifect being that while the parts are as shown in Fig. 1 when operating under normal conditions the parts assume the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4 when resisting a tendency of the wheel to jump the wire. Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5,the dotted lines indicate the two ends of such a trolley-pole divided forward of its longitudinal center, the lower or car end being indicated by letter B and the upper or free end by letter 0. Such poles are usually made hollow or tube-like and of iron, usually round externally and of greater diameter at the lower or car end than at the free end. So divided we provide a sleeve-like element D, fitting over and riveted to the end 0 of the pole,said sleeve having ears t t to form part of a hinge connection, and preferably, also, an extension end f, which is in the form of a hollow semicylinder and operates as a brake-shoe. A bracket h is provided to hold one end of a pull-spring. To the other or lower end B of the pole is fitted the other element D of our device. If the pole is hollow, as usual, it is preferably driven into the pole and then riveted instead of encircling it sleeve-like, as in case of element D. It is provided with a tongue g,forming partof the hinge connection with the ears t z. of the opposite element. It is obvious, however, that variations may be made in the form of the hinge elements 25 t and g. Encircling the pole end B is a bracket-ring I'I, provided to hold one end of a pull-spring. It is obvious, however, that if the element D is made sleeve-like the bracket-ring 11 may be integral with it instead of being a separate element fitted on the pole, and the reverse is also true of the bracket h of element D, it being quite the same to make said bracket h,like bracket-ringH,aseparateelementandsecured directly to the pole. Between said brackets is stretcheda pull-spring M under'such tension as to have a tendency to bring the parts into the relative positions shown in Figs. 2 and 4, and which tension will be entirely overcome by the pressure of the trolley-wheel against the overhead wire when the said parts are in the normal position. (Shown in Fig.1.) As it is necessary to limit the pivotal movement of the hinge members D D toward each other, they are each provided with flat and jaw-like faces 7:, which are normally separated, but by their contacting, as seen in Fig. 4, limit the pivotal movement in an upward direction of the free end D of the pole. Equally so the brake -shoe f, while primarily operating by reason of its semicylindrical form to partially encircle the end B of the pole, and hence strengthen and support the hinge connection between the elements D D and prevent lateral relative displacement, also aids the spring in limiting the opposite pivotal (the downward) movement of said pole end D, it being an absolute stop device for that purpose.

For some purposes it might be deemed desirable to duplicate the pull-spring M, and to effect this the modification shown in Figs. 6 and 7 presents a convenient method of accomplishing that end.

We are aware that it has been heretofore proposed to obtain the results above described by dividing the trolley-pole in the direction of its length and uniting the divided ends by a hinge connection; but such devices, even when the hinge is spring-controlled, fail to eflect the object intended in the absence of opposite stop devices operating to control and limit the two opposite pivotal movements of the divided pole ends and in the absence of means to prevent a lateral wabbling of said ends relatively to each other.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A trolley contact-pole divided at a point forward of its longitudinal center, a hinge connection between said divided ends, spring mechanism tending normally to throw said ends out of alinement, positive step devices operating to limit the extent of such nonalinement, consisting of oppositely-disposed inclined jaw elements, mounted respectively on each member of the hinge element, and another positive stop device mounted on the IIO shorter pole end coacting with said spring device to limit the reverse pivotal movement of the shorter pole end to an extent which will bring said divided pole ends into perfect alinement.

2. In combination, a trolley contact-pole divided at a point forward of its longitudinal center, a car-body, a spring-controlled pivotal bearing for the lower extremity of the longer movement of the parts to efiect a perfect alinement thereof.

3. In a longitudinally-divided trolley-pole,-

the combination with the contiguous ends thereof, of a spring-controlled hinge connection, one element of which consists of a sleeve D provided with ears t, t, a hollow semicylindrical stop device an inclined projecting stop device 70 and a bracket h, and the other element D of which consists of a member provided with tongues g, g, like inclined stop device k, and a spring-holding bracket; means to operatively connect said hinge elements, and a pull-spring between the same tending normally to maintain them out of alinement. In testimony whereof we have hereunto affixed our signatures this 10th day of July, A, D. 1901. p

' ERNEST B. ROBERTSON.

SAMUEL N. DOLE.

Witnesses:

ANDREW V. GROUPE,

H. T. FENTON. 

